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NASB | Matthew 6:8 "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 6:8 "So do not be like them [praying as they do]; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. |
Bible Question: (1) If God knows what we need even before we ask, then why ask?(2) Does prayer change the situation or does it change us -- or both?(3) If our prayers are not immediately answered, are we to continue to pray for the same things? |
Bible Answer: It has been rightly said that Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship. Relationships are based on communication. When we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are adopted into the family of God. The Father becomes our Father. While He indeed knows our needs before we ask, our relationship to Him can only grow when we bow humbly before Him and empty our heart and soul in prayer. Prayer is both a request and a gift (if done for the proper, biblical motive). We are asking for a blessing from God (which He wants to give us), and we are in return giving Him our love, praise, adoration, and righteous fear, which is the respect He deserves as our Father. Prayer changes us first, because we are not relying on our own means and efforts to control the situation. When we ask for things in Jesus' name(and mean it), we are not seeking our own glory, but His. Things may not happen immediately, but "loving one another as [Jesus] loved us" - which is Agape or self-sacrificing love, and which includes praying for others - will always have some effect. Scripture says that a thousand years is but a day to God ... we need to remember that His time table is not ours. And we also need to remember that His thoughts are not our thoughts - so the answer we get may not be what we thought it would be. If a prayer is not immediately answered, we should continue to pray. Samuel said in 1 Samuel 12:23 that if he ceased to pray for the sinning and rebellious Israelites, it would be a sin against God. We should always pray for God's intervention, no matter how "hopeless" it may seem. |
Up | Down View Branch | ID# 6250 | ||
Questions and/or Subjects for Matt 6:8 | Author | ||
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laughlin | ||
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Hank | ||
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ProclaimTruth | ||
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Hank | ||
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manoftheword49 | ||
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Jolene Nolan | ||
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LovemyLord7 |